Xaq Frohlich's research centers on the "science" of risk assessment and risk communication, food as a liminal object that bridges the environment and human health, and socially responsible consumption. His dissertation, "Accounting for Taste: Regulating Food Labeling in the 'Affluent Society,' 1945-1995," is a history of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's food labeling policies, and the cultural ramifications of the "nutrition transition," the turn from public health concerns about nutrition deficiency to the preoccupation with overeating.
He received his B.A. in History from the University of Texas at Austin, with an honors thesis: "Building Public Policy on Scientific Uncertainty: Debates in Europe and the US over Recombinant DNA and Genetically Modified Foods." Other past projects include work on agricultural biotechnology in an international development context, helping Oxfam America assess the socioeconomic impact of transgenic cotton on resource-poor farmers.
food and agricultural studies; history of nutrition; law and science; cultural history of technology
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
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